15.3191, Qs: Monolingualism Worldwide

[LINGUIST List]

LINGUIST List: Vol-15-3191. Sat Nov 13 2004. ISSN: 1068 - 4875.

Subject: 15.3191, Qs: Monolingualism Worldwide

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1)
Date: 11-Nov-2004
From: Stan Anonby < stan-sandy_anonby at sil.org >
Subject: Monolingualism Worldwide



-------------------------Message 1 ----------------------------------
Date: Sat, 13 Nov 2004 14:18:31
From: Stan Anonby < stan-sandy_anonby at sil.org >
Subject: Monolingualism Worldwide



In the Americas, where I've worked, massive urbanization has resulted in a
shift from multilingualism to monolingualism in English, Spanish, or
Portuguese. I know very little about the rest of the world, but what I do
know seems to indicate that urbanization isn't as far along in Africa and
Asia. Furthermore, urbanization in Asia and Africa seems to result in a
shift from monolingualism to multilingualism. Since the population of the
New World is smaller, I'd guess that the percentage of monolinguals is
decreasing worldwide.

However, I'd like to pose the following question to the list
members: Is the percentage of monolinguals in the world increasing or
decreasing?


Stan Anonby

Linguistic Field(s): General Linguistics



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